(7/9/2017) Locals love living in Freo

When asked to rate the City of Fremantle as a place to live, 95 per cent of respondents rated living in Freo as either excellent, good or ok, while only five per cent rated it poor or terrible.

The community scorecard survey found the Fremantle Arts Centre was the most loved arts centre in WA, while locals also rated Fremantle highly for its festivals and events, history and heritage, character and identity and access to public transport.

Mayor Brad Pettitt said the survey confirmed people thought Fremantle was a great place to live.

“I have always loved living in Freo, and it seems just about everybody else does too,” Mayor Pettitt said.

While the survey identified a lot to be proud of, it also highlighted where residents believed there was room for improvement.

“Attracting more investment and jobs, development of the city centre and community safety were all raised as areas of concern,” Mayor Pettitt said.

“The Kings Square project, which is part of $1.3 billion worth of public and private investment in the pipeline for Fremantle, will make a huge difference in these areas.

“It will create more than 2100 local jobs and inject around $358 million into the local economy, as well as create a vibrant and inviting space for people to relax and enjoy.

“Our new-look Community Safety Team, which was launched late last year, is also proving to be very successful in making our streets safer.

“At the heart of addressing many of the concerns in the survey is bringing more people to live, work and play in Fremantle.

“We will focus more attention on the areas our residents have identified and put more effort into letting people know what we are doing to make Freo an even better place to live.”

The Catalyse community scorecard survey was commissioned by the City of Fremantle and conducted in May this year. The City was one of more than 30 local councils around the state to commission such a survey.

4000 randomly-selected households were invited to participate, and the survey was also promoted on the City’s website.